There are two types of carpet tiles currently available. A first type requires that a self-release adhesive be applied to the floor on which the carpet tile is to be placed. There are several disadvantages in using this type of carpet tiles, including the need to "seal" a concrete floor in order to prevent the adhesive from being absorbed into the concrete. A second disadvantage is that when the tiles are removed the glue which remains on the floor is both difficult and costly to remove in order to return the floor to its original surface.
Accordingly, the second type of carpet tile, which is commonly known as a self-sticking tile, uses a pressure self-release adhesive cured onto the back of the carpet tile. Such carpet tiles having the self-release adhesive are advantageous over the first type of carpet tiles in that there is no need to "seal" a concrete floor prior to carpet tile installation and when the carpet tiles are removed there is no messy and costly clean up necessary in order to return the floor to its original surface.
Ayotte, U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,563 proposes to package felt substrates having an adhesive applied to one surface of the substrate. Each felt substrate, with an applied adhesive, is separated from another such felt substrate, with an applied adhesive, by a release paper. The release paper is necessary to prevent the adhesive surface of one felt substrate from contacting the finished or exposed felt surface of another felt substrate. The proposed Ayotte packaging is disadvantageous, in that it is costly to provide the release paper during the manufacturing process and the release paper also presents problems of paper disposal during the time of installation of the carpet tiles.